Komen works to re-ignite war on cancer

The Kennedy-Hutchison cancer legislation will re-ignite the war on cancer.

Support for a 9.5 percent increase in the federal government's funding for the National Cancer Institute, which would provide NCI with the necessary funding to maintain current services and prevent cuts to ongoing research projects and clinical trials.

The Komen Advocacy Alliance calls on Congress to provide $250 million in Fiscal Year 2009 for the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program, which provides breast cancer screening to underserved populations.

Congress also must appropriate $21.5 million for the Patient Navigator grant program, which includes un-appropriated funds that were authorized by the Patient Navigator, Outreach and Chronic Disease Prevention Act of 2005. This will ensure cancer patients have access to a qualified patient navigator to help guide them through the complicated structure of the American health care system.

There are more than 250,000 uninsured or underinsured women in Northeast Ohio alone

Even though the incidence of breast cancer in African American women is lower than the general population, breast cancer mortality in Ohio African American women is 31% higher than the general population.

We must work together to improve these startling statistics. This year we are focusing our statewide efforts are focused on expanding access to breast cancer treatment for underinsured and uninsured Ohio women.

Some women find they are ineligible for Ohio Medicaid breast cancer treatment because they were not diagnosed or screened by an "eligible" provider. Expansion of Ohio's treatment option will allow any women screened and diagnosed by any Ohio provider to enroll in Medicaid as long as other eligibility criteria is met.